Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) include remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) or self-piloted aircraft (SPA) that can carry cameras, sensors, communication equipment, or other payloads, and are capable of controlled, sustained, level flight, and are usually powered by an engine. A self-piloted UAV or SPA may fly autonomously based on pre-programmed flight plans. UAVs are becoming increasingly used for various missions where manned flight vehicles may provide sub-optimal results. These missions may include military applications, such as surveillance, reconnaissance, target acquisition, data acquisition, communications relay, decoy, harassment, or supply flights.
However, UAVs are not solely used for military applications. A growing number of civilian applications are now being implemented, such as firefighting, natural disaster reconnaissance, police observation of civil disturbances or crime scenes, and scientific research (e.g., observation of weather formations or volcanos).
And as their versatility grows, new applications arise, which in turn demand further innovation. For example, if a UAV must land or be recovered by a moving vehicle, the three dimensional dynamics of that moving vehicle will significantly complicate the landing procedure. Highly trained operators are often required to execute such a recovery, and depending on the agility of the moving terrestrial or maritime vehicle, the difficulty of the landing may exceed the skill of the operator. Given the increasing cost and sophistication of many UAVs, failed recovery attempts will invariably be dangerous and expensive.
Accordingly, there is an unmet need in the art for improved systems and methods for navigating UAVs, especially for automating recovery of UAVs.